Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Pokémon: Sinnoh no Isekai
Chapter eighteen: Heavy Metal
The heroes went to the Canalave City gym to watch it as Dawn challenged Byron for the Mine Badge. Ash, Brock, Kenny, and even Roark sat in the bleachers as they saw Dawn stand in her spot on the battlefield while Byron stood in his. "...She may have won against me no problem," Roark said, "But my dad's even tougher. I hope she's prepared to deal with a hard battle ahead of her."
Smiling confidently, Ash said, "Roark, you need to relax. Sure your dad is tough, but so is Dawn. She's grown a lot since she faced you at your gym."
"My main man down there can roll with the best of them," Kenny remarked confidently.
Brock, looking a little confused, pointed out, "Umm, Dawn's a girl."
Scoffing, Kenny replied, "I know Dawn is a girl, but that doesn't matter. A girl can still be someone's main man."
"Like how the word dude is used as a unisex term sometimes," Roark remarked.
Nodding along in agreement, Kenny said, "Yes. Exactly."
Over in the arena, the referee who stood on the side of the battlefield announced, "This is an official Canalave City gym battle between Byron, the leader of the Canalave City gym, and the challenger, Dawn Berlitz of Twinleaf Town! Each trainer may use three Pokémon each, and the battle is over when all of one trainer's Pokémon have been defeated. Additionally, only the challenger can switch Pokémon out at any time! Let this battle... BEGIN!"
Tossing up a pokéball, Byron yelled, "I love Bronzor!"
"Alright, Chi-Chi!" Dawn said as she sent out her Infernape, "Let's get going!"
As the guys in the bleachers were watching, Ash's Monferno came out of its pokéball on its own and sat next to Ash, intent on watching Chi-Chi battle against Byron's Pokémon. "...Oh, you want to watch Dawn's Infernape battle, don't you Monferno?" Ash asked, looking mildly amused to see his Monferno so invested in learning from its evolved form.
On the battlefield, Byron laughed in amusement. "Well you sure know your type advantages in an out, sending a fire type out against a steel type! But I'm prepared for challengers using fire Pokémon against me! Bronzor's ability is Heatproof, which lowers the damage it takes from fire attacks! But that's not all!" Gesturing forward, Byron yelled, "Bronzor, use Rain Dance!"
"Chi-Chi, use Thunder Punch!" Dawn called out. Chi-Chi rushed forward and slugged Bronzor right in the face with an electrified fist, sending it reeling as it barely hung on and got off Rain Dance, making it rain down in the battlefield where the roof overhead opened to let the summoned rain in. Seeing that it was raining now, Dawn knew that it wouldn't be all that effective to use fire attacks, even if they're super effective on steel Pokémon.
But that's where another one of Chi-Chi's moves came in handy, and it was really convenient that Bronzor's ability wasn't Levitate but rather Heatproof instead. Gesturing forward, Dawn called out, "Chi-Chi, use Earthquake!" Chi-Chi raised her fists up into the air before she pulled them back down past her sides, triggering a powerful quake that shook the entire battlefield. Bronzor was smacked around when it got hit by the seismic waves, and fell to the battlefield defeated after the quaking had stopped.
Holding up a hand, the referee announced, "Bronzor is unable to battle! The winner is Infernape!"
Over in the bleachers, the guys were able to sit themselves back up after Dawn's named Infernape had just shaken the battlefield. "That..." Roark said, "...Was not something I saw coming."
"What, don't trainers try having their Pokémon learn Earthquake if it's possible for them?" Kenny asked.
Out on the battlefield, Byron recalled his fainted Bronzor as he said, "Well you certainly are full of surprises, young lady! Let's see what else you got in your bag of tricks!" Tossing up pokéball number two, Byron cried out, "I love Steelix!"
"Chi-Chi that's enough, fall back!" Dawn said as she swapped her Pokémon out, "Alright, Leni! Let's get goin'!" Infernape was swapped out, then Lucario was swapped in. Pointing at Steelix, Dawn said, "Leni, use Aura Sphere!"
"Steelix, use Screech!" Byron ordered. Leni, being far faster, conjured her Aura Sphere attack and cast it at Steelix, striking it in the face and making it fall back a bit before it was able to launch back, albeit with great difficulty due to how much damage it took, and unleashed a piercing screeching sound that made everyone else cover their ears. When Steelix was finished screeching, Byron called out, "Steelix, use Bind!"
"Leni, use Dark Pulse!" Dawn commanded. Leni conjured a Dark Pulse and fired it right at Steelix, striking it square in the face and making it shake it off before trying to go for Leni. However, Bind ended up missing because Leni jumped out of the way, landing on a large boulder on the battlefield. "Leni, use Aura Sphere again!" Dawn called out.
Leni conjured another Aura Sphere attack and cast it at Steelix, striking it square along its side as the attack blew up into it. Steelix was knocked back and fell with a heavy slam onto the battlefield, where it laid defeated. "Steelix is unable to battle!" the referee announced, "The winner is Lucario!"
Smiling as he recalled his fainted Steelix, Byron said, "I have to admit, you're doing pretty well, young lady. Even that rough looking boy had one of his Pokémon go down by the time I was brought down to my last Pokémon."
Dawn frowned a bit, knowing who the 'rough looking boy' Byron was talking about is. "...Well I'm a different kind of trainer than he is."
"And I'm glad for it!" Byron called out, a bark of amused laughter in his words, "Sinnoh needs more good trainers like you! And it's the job of gym leaders like me to push trainers to be more!" Holding up the pokéball that contained his last Pokémon, Byron said, "I hope you're ready! Because this will push you to the edge!" Byron then tossed up the pokéball as he cried out, "I love Bastiodon!"
"Leni that's enough, fall back!" Dawn said as she swapped her Pokémon again, "Alright, Germany! Let's get goin'!" Lucario was swapped out and Gabite was swapped in.
"Oh ho!" Byron said, "First fire, then fighting, now ground! You really know how to make a metal old man like me sweat!" Pointing forward, Byron said, "Bastiodon, use Iron Head!"
"Germany, use Iron Head as well!" Dawn called out. The two Pokémon, their heads shining like polished metal balls, rushed at one another. It was Germany who hit first, and a lucky shot over most of Bastiodon's left eye made the fossil Pokémon flinch back. "Germany, use Rock Tomb!" Dawn ordered.
"Bastiodon, use Metal Burst!" Byron called out. Germany threw boulders at Bastiodon that struck it, not doing a lot but it did lower Bastiodon's speed. As for Bastiodon, it unleashed a shining metallic burst at Germany, hitting it for slightly more than what Germany hit him with.
Looking at Bastiodon, Dawn estimated that one solid ground attack at this point ought to be enough to take Bastiodon out. Gesturing forward, Dawn commanded, "Germany, use Dig!"
"Bastiodon, use Flash Cannon!" Byron called out. Germany quickly dug its way underground, clearly avoiding the Flash Cannon from Byron's Bastiodon. Then, Germany burst up out from the ground right under Bastiodon, unintentionally striking Bastiodon in its groin area and making it gasp out of pained shock as it was thrown up and fell to the battlefield with a slamming thud, clearly knocked out from a critical hit.
Holding up a hand, the referee announced, "Bastiodon is unable to battle! The winner is Gabite!" Gesturing to Dawn, the referee went on, "Victory of this battle goes to the challenger, Dawn Berlitz!"
Germany cried out in victory while Dawn let out a calm sigh of relief. As for the audience, they all cheered as Dawn had just won her sixth Sinnoh gym badge. Speaking of, Byron handed the Mine Badge over to Dawn, then told Ash and Kenny that he'll be ready to receive a challenge from one of them later that evening, after his Pokémon had all rested and been treated over at the Pokémon Center. Everyone went over to the Pokémon Center, especially Dawn as she needed to rest some of her Pokémon as well.
Later at the Pokémon Center, after Dawn's Pokémon came out from being treated, she went to go sit down with the others, although Byron had to head back to the gym to check something. "So what did you guys think of my battle against Byron?" Dawn asked.
"It was amazing, my main man," Kenny said, "Gives me ideas on how I can dance around Byron's plays against fire types."
Brock nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you certainly know what you're doing." To Kenny and Ash, Brock said, "I'd say that all of you know what you're doing. You're all awesome trainers."
Giving Dawn a curious look, Roark asked, "Say Dawn, how is that Cranidos you got doing ever since he was revived from that Skull Fossil that Chon gave you?"
"Oh, Souji is a Rampardos now, and he's doing very fine," Dawn replied. She then proceeded to tell Roark about how Souji helped her win the Relic Badge from Fantina over in Hearthome City, as well as Souji's efforts against Team Galactic during the fiasco with the Lustrous Orb.
Smiling, Roark said, "Well I'm glad to hear it. My dad may also be interested in hearing about it as he's also into fossils."
Nodding in agreement, Ash said, "Yeah, Dawn's Pokémon are awesome, but then again she's made them that way by showing care for them."
Snickering a bit, Kenny said, "Dawn was super doting on her Lucario when she hatched as a Riolu."
Dawn blushed a bit out of embarrassment. "W-Well Leni was super adorable as a Riolu! I couldn't help it!" Pointing at Kenny, Dawn went on, "And all of the care I showed and continue to show pays off as Leni can now effectively hold her own against the Pokémon of gym leaders!"
The others laughed in good spirits as Dawn and Kenny had their back and fourth. It put all of them in a good mood that helped to put them in good spirits for the battles to come. Kenny and Ash still had to go, and they decided that Kenny would go next, meaning Ash's first try will be tomorrow morning. Kenny was psyching himself up for his go at Byron, stating a complete confidence in the power of his cringe posse. The others cheered for Kenny, excited to see him battle against Byron later that evening.
Later that evening, Kenny had his battle against Byron and won, thus earning the Mine Badge.
Kenny started off with Goofy, his Houndoom, in response to Byron's Bronzor. Goofy was able to blast Bronzor with a quick Flamethrower, even inflicting a burn in the process, before Bronzor got up Rain Dance. Goofy then struck Bronzor with Dark Pulse, making it flinch and immediately suffer damage from it's burn. Goofy was able to take Bronzor down with a Shadow Ball after that, scoring one point for Kenny.
Byron then sent out Steelix, to which Kenny recalled Goofy and sent out Roshi in his place. The named Torterra was able to tank a few Iron Tails from Steelix while dishing out Earthquakes in return, eventually winning out against Steelix in a battle of attrition. Roshi could still go, but Kenny didn't want to push him, so after Byron sent out Bastiodon, Kenny called Roshi back to swap in another Pokémon.
Kenny actually changed his initial planned lineup against Byron, deciding against using Zarbon and going with Elay instead. Taking a cue from Dawn's book after seeing how Germany did, Kenny decided to exploit Bastiodon's times four weakness to ground attacks by bringing out Elay so that he could show Byron's Bastiodon da wae. Elay immediately used Dig to borrow underground, then burst up from underneath Bastiodon, throwing it back.
Byron had Bastiodon counter with Metal Burst, but on Kenny's order Elay spun into the attack with Rapid Spin, defending from Metal Burst while also dealing some damage to Bastiodon upon getting close enough. Ash thought that it was cool that Kenny used what seemed to be a variation of the Countershield technique, and a thumbs up from Kenny to Ash showed that the reborn trainer got at least some inspiration from him.
Elay then used Dig again, and after bursting up from the ground below Bastiodon to strike it, Elay had clearly defeated Bastiodon. After Kenny was announced the winner of the battle, he cheered, "Ha ha, we won the battle!"
"*click*" Elay said, making a tongue clicking noise rather than actually saying anything.
The following morning after Byron's Pokémon had a chance to sleep and rest for the night, he had his battle with Ash. Ash ended up winning, and his battle with Byron played out more or less the same as it did in the anime in Dawn and Kenny's previous life. The only differences here was that Ash's Chimchar and Buizel were now Monferno and Floatzel, and Ash won with only Floatzel going down, in a double knock out where he took Byron's Steelix down with him.
All three of the trainers aiming for the Pokémon League now had their sixth badges each, bringing all of them one step closer to their shared goal.
...
"What's all of this?" Byron asked the following morning as he saw Ash, Dawn, and Kenny present him with a selection of snacks and candies, "Some of these look like my favorite snacks, but these others look like what my wife loves."
"I told them about it, dad," Roark explained, "They got this selection as a gift for you and mom, since your anniversary is coming up."
Realizing the reason behind the selection of snacks and sweets, Byron let out an amused bark of laughter. "Well now ain't that sweet!" Byron said, "You kids didn't have to do this!"
"Well we wanted to do something to congratulate you and Mrs. Roark's mom on another year of marriage," Kenny said, "So go see her, enjoy some munchies, and just be together with the woman who you love."
Byron actually teared up, touched by the gesture. He threw his arms around Dawn and the boys and lifted them up into a huge bear hug, surprising the young trainers and making Dawn cry out in a bit of surprise. The last that they saw, the heroes saw Byron and Roark off on a blimp to Oreburgh City, heading home to have family time.
Later that day, the heroes tried leaving Canalave City to take a ship from Iron Island to Chocovine Town. However, the ships weren't running because a heard of Wailord were blocking the way. At Ash's suggestion, they decided to wait out the blockade. They then set up a picnic to have a bit of lunch as they waited for the blockade to clear.
"So as I was saying," Kenny said, "That angry emo bully guy Paul needs the book thrown at him. I mean, his worst offence yet is leading a helpless deranged fanboy astray."
"Deranged fanboy?" Ash said, looking confused.
Dawn was about to explain what Kenny was on about, but stopped short when a Luxio came running up to the picnic, stole some food, then ran off. "Get 'em, Goof!" Kenny said, sending his named Houndoom after the Luxio.
"Pikachu, help out!" Ash ordered, sending Pikachu to go back Goofy up.
"Germany, you too!" Dawn said as she sent her named Gabite to help out. The three Pokémon chased after the thieving Luxio, but a Whismur and male Nidoran intercepted the Pokémon, letting the Luxio get away. The wild Pokémon escaped into the sewers, and the trainers' Pokémon ran right after them, prompting Dawn and the boys to go after them, leaving Brock with having to pack up the picnic sight after them.
...
Team Rocket was operating a construction machine of some kind near a sewer entrance when a Whismur came running by out of a manhole. "What the heck was that all about?" James asked.
"I don't know, but let's catch that Whismur!" Jessie declared, leading the others into the construction machine and transforming it into a mech of some kind. It was this scene that Ash, Dawn, and Kenny came upon, with their Pokémon emerging from the same manhole as the Whismur. "Oh, let's take those Pokémon belonging to the twerps too!" Jessie declared.
"I don't think so!" Kenny yelled as he sent out a Pokémon, "Alright, Zarbon! Let's make it cringe!" After his named Machamp came out, Kenny yelled, "Push away the mech that Team Rocket is in! Give that machine a good and solid pounding with Dynamic Punch!"
"MAAAAAAACHAAAAAAAMP!" Zarbon cried out in aroused, sensual pleasure as he struck the mech Team Rocket was in so hard, he pushed it into the water. Team Rocket, seeing that they were about to fall into the water, scrambled out of their mech just in time.
Pointing at Team Rocket, Ash said, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Piiiiikaaaaachuuuuu!"
Team Rocket was zapped by Pikachu's Thunderbolt before it exploded around them, sending Team Rocket blasting off again. Turning back around now that Team Rocket was gone, Ash said, "So now what do we do?"
Looking to the manhole cover, Dawn said, "We go down into the sewer to see what the deal with those wild Pokémon were." Turning to Kenny, Dawn asked, "Can you wait here for Brock so that he can catch up to us?"
Giving Dawn a nod, Kenny replied, "Aye aye, Captain." Ash and Dawn, after Dawn recalled Germany, then went into the manhole after Zarbon busted it open with his super strength, allowing them to go after the wild Pokémon to see what was up.
Down in the sewers, Ash and Dawn began searching around for the wild Pokémon that bothered them earlier. As the two looked around, Dawn remembered that things were playing out like they did in the episode where a wild Wailmer was stranded in the sewers. Remembering that episode, Dawn looked around and eventually got an idea on where to head. "Let's try this way, Ash!" Dawn said as she ran ahead, with Ash running to catch up.
They soon ran into the male Nidoran, the Whismur, and the Luxio after turning a few corners. The wild Pokémon fired attacks at the trainers, but Ash's Pikachu deflected the attacks with a strong Thunderbolt. A dust cloud was kicked up, and the wild Pokémon ran on ahead to their goal. Ash and Dawn didn't lose track of them, so they were able to follow the wild Pokémon by turning a corner where the water went down a different path.
Up a ways ahead, Ash and Dawn spotted a Wailmer passed on on the walkway next to the water. The wild Pokémon were standing in front of the Wailmer, seeing the two humans as a threat. But Ash, seeing the Wailmer in need of help, was by no means a threat to the Pokémon. "Hey, we aren't going to hurt your Wailmer friend here," Ash said in a kind tone, "Heck, Dawn and I will be glad to lend a hand to help him out of here."
"He's right," Dawn replied, before she and Ash went about helping Wailmer into the water. Getting an idea, Ash called out Floatzel and had him use Water Gun to hydrate the Wailmer. That perked him up, and as a result he rolled into the water easy. With Wailmer in the water, Ash said, "I bet that the herd of Wailord causing the blockade is worried about this Wailmer. Let's get him reunited with the rest of them."
Giving Ash a thumbs up, Dawn replied, "Good idea, Ash."
...
Ash and Dawn, followed by the wild Pokémon who all along were only trying to help the Wailmer, made their way through the sewers up until they came to a drop. There were also some other wild Pokémon there, mostly Zubat and a scant few Mothim, some Teddiursa, a couple of Venonat, one more male Nidoran and a female Nidoran, and some Rattata. "Holy geez," Ash said as he looked at the drop, "How will we get Wailmer up that drop?"
Looking around, Dawn said, "I have a plan that luckily should work since, before we went to the harbor to look to going to Iron Island, I rotated my party some." Dawn went over to one of the ladders that got one over the drop, climbed up, then when she was up there, called out both Leni and Coupins. "Leni, Coupins, I need the two of you to both use Psychic," Dawn said, "Combine it to lift that wild Wailmer up over the drop here and place him in the water."
Dawn's named Lucario and Mothim both nodded in the affirmative as the turned to look down at where Wailmer swam in the water below the drop. Their eyes both glowed with Psychic power, and soon that power surrounded Wailmer before floating him up. Leni and Coupins strained a tiny bit, but they were successful in floating the wild Wailmer over the drop and place him in the water on the level they were at.
"Wow, Dawn, that was cool!" Ash cheered, "Having Pokémon that know Psychic sure is handy!"
Nodding in agreement, Dawn replied, "Yes, now let's get Wailmer out of the sewer and reunited with the wild Wailord herd!" Ash nodded in agreement and, after climbing up to join Dawn and her Pokémon, went with them to lead Wailmer out of the sewer. However, they then ran into yet another obstacle, that being another drop that was a little more than twice the height of the one that they had just gotten Wailmer over.
"You think that your Lucario and Mothim can levitate Wailmer over this drop, Dawn?" Ash asked.
Dawn looked to her Pokémon and saw that, while they weren't fully worn out, they did expend a bit of effort getting Wailmer over the first drop. "...I wouldn't want to put all of the burden on Leni and Coupins," Dawn replied. Turning to face Ash, Dawn said, "But I do have an idea to help get Wailmer over this drop. But we'll need the help of all of the wild flying Pokémon we saw along the way. We're also going to need Cyrus and your Staravia, and a whole lot of rope.
...
Dawn's second plan involved making a huge net out of a few coils of rope, using the rope net as a cradle to hold Wailmer, then all of the wild flying type Pokémon, aided by Cyrus and Ash's Staravia, grabbed lengths of rope attached to the net cradle and began flying up while pulling, bringing the Wailmer airborne. Meanwhile, Dawn supplemented this effort by having Leni and Coupins lighten the load by levitating the Wailmer with Psychic again.
As a result, they got the Wailmer over the second, larger drop, although Dawn recalled Leni, Cyrus, and Coupins afterwards as she didn't want to push them anymore. "Alright, we got Wailmer over the second drop!" Ash cheered, "And look! Wailmer can swim right out of the sewer and reunite with the herd of Wailord through that exit!"
Dawn nodded in agreement as she and Ash, along with the original three wild Pokémon who were helping Wailmer, ran to the large exit to get out of the sewer. However, along the way, something emerged from the water and blocked their path, clearly angry that its area had been invaded upon by the two heroes and various wild Pokémon. "Swampert!" yelled a wild Swampert as it challenged Ash, Dawn, and the friendly wild Pokémon after having come out of the water.
"It's a wild Swampert!" Dawn said, "Swampert is a species of dual water ground type Pokémon, so only grass type moves are super effective!"
Holding up a pokéball, Ash said, "I got this, Dawn! Grotle, I choose you!" Ash sent out his Grotle, who gave a confident cry as he came out into battle. Seeing the Grotle, Swampert rushed in and struck Grotle in the head with Ice Punch. It hurt, but it wasn't enough to deter the now tankier grass type Pokémon. "Grotle, use Razor Leaf!" Ash called out. On Ash's order, Grotle cast a bunch of leaves at the wild Swampert, striking it and sending it into a wall where it was knocked out.
After Swampert fell to the floor, Ash was about to run past but Dawn stopped him. "Hey Ash," Dawn began, "We might need some extra muscle to help out here, and it was your Grotle who took down the wild Swampert. Plus I heard that one of the gyms here in Sinnoh uses electric Pokémon, and a strong ground type like Swampert could be a boon there. That being said." Jerking a thumb at the defeated wild Swampert, Dawn asked, "Aren't you considering catching that wild Swampert?"
This was something that had honestly bothered Dawn in her previous life about the Diamond and Pearl anime; Ash had the perfect opportunity to catch the wild Swampert in that episode but he failed to do so. An opportunistic brute like Paul would have jumped at the chance to nab a strong Pokémon like Swampert knowing him, but Ash had just blindly ran past a golden opportunity to add a valuable addition to his rotation in that episode.
Dawn hoped that by giving Ash the idea here, even hinting at the Sunyshore City gym in the process to help add incentive, would convince Ash to catch the wild Swampert. To Dawn's luck, Ash's face lit up with realization. "Holy geez, thanks for pointing out that I could catch it!" Ash remarked, "I was so focused on helping out Wailmer that I completely overlooked that I can catch Swampert!" Ash then took out a spare pokéball and threw it at the unconscious Swampert.
The wild Swampert went into the pokéball before it fell to the ground. The pokéball shook for a little bit before making a ping sound, indicating capture. Holding up the pokéball that held his brand new Swampert, Ash cheered, "Alright! I caught a Swampert!"
"Let's lead Wailmer out of the sewer already," Dawn said, getting Ash to follow her and the wild Pokémon out of the sewer.
When Dawn, Ash, and the wild Pokémon all got out of the sewer, they were met up by Kenny and Brock. "Did you encounter a group of four mutated turtle Pokémon in the sewers who practice the ninja arts by chance?" Kenny asked.
Dawn and especially Ash gave Kenny a confused look. "...No," Ash replied, "But we are trying to help this wild Wailmer we just got out of the sewer reunite with the Wailord herd causing the blockade."
"Ah, that would explain why the Wailord herd is causing that blockade," Brock said, "They're worried about Wailmer here." Turning around to look at the bridge ahead, Brock said, "Well Wailmer can just swim under that bridge to reunite with the Wailord herd, so provided nothing occurs that can mess up that plan, we should be-" Brock was cut off when the wild Wailmer suddenly began glowing. He grew very big while glowing, and then the glowing faded, revealing that the wild Wailmer had just evolved into Wailord.
Turning to look at Brock, Kenny shot him a dry look as he said, "Smooth move jinxing things just now, Brock."
"He's too big to swim under the bridge," Ash remarked as he saw the bridge ahead.
"It's a drawbridge, though," Brock pointed out, "We can simply have the drawbridge pull up and let Wailord swim on through." Everyone nodded in agreement and proceeded to go the drawbridge control room to lift the drawbridge and let Wailord reunite with his heard.
...
Upon reaching the drawbridge control room, Ash and Kenny had Pikachu and Juan use Thunderbolt to override the controls. The wild Luxio, seeing the heroes go to great lengths to help Wailord, pitched in and added its own electric attack to the mix. A bunch of the wild Pokémon from the sewers, despite none of them being electric types, pitched in as all of them knew Shock Wave. In quick order, the drawbridge was raised, and Wailord was able to reunite with his herd.
...
The heroes watched it as the Wailord herd, fully reunited, swam away and unblocked the harbor, allowing for the boats to go. "Now we can leave for Iron Island," Brock said, "And take the boat from there to get to Chocovine Town."
Looking up in the skies above, Kenny said, "Ain't it a bit late in the evening to leave immediately? We ought to try again in the morning."
Ash nodded in agreement. "Kenny's got a point. Besides, I just caught a Swampert in the sewers, and I need to let it rest before we head out. Also, it's close to time to get dinner."
Brock, smiling a bit, replied, "Fair enough. We really ought to call it a day anyway." The heroes then took off for the Pokémon Center, where they had their Pokémon treated before they had dinner and rested for the night. They would try in the morning for Iron Island, so that they could take a boat there to reach Chocovine Town, the next step in their adventure.
END, CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Author's notes;
This chapter sees Dawn, Kenny, and Ash earn their respective Mine Badges, then go through the events of the filler episode where they help out the wild Wailmer in the sewers. Normally, I would skip covering the events of episodes like the Wailmer in the sewer episode, as well as the Iron Island episodes where the gang runs into Riley and his Lucario, plus the episode dealing with the fun in Chocovine Town; events from episodes Dawn here skips are ostensibly handled off screen by Ash and Brock.
However, I'm actually going to cover those events here for a few reasons, mostly to give Ash a leg up that he didn't have in the actual anime. Dawn taking part in the events of the Iron Island episodes is important for her own reasons, and the Chocovine Town adventure will occur briefly but last for enough to cover one or two points that I want to cover for Ash. You'll see what I mean when all of those goodies are shown. Take care.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Cyrus (male Staraptor), Germany (male Gabite), Coupins (male Mothim), Akiza (female Roserade), Leni (female Lucario)
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Roshi (male Torterra), Zarbon (male Machamp), Elay (male Sandslash; shiny), Cell (male Scizor; shiny), Goofy (male Houndoom), Juan (male Pikachu)
Ash's Pokémon: Pikachu (male), Grotle (male), Monferno (male), Staravia (male), Swampert (female), Buneary (female)